Table of contents
Reviewing modern classics of Xitsonga music.
By Nyarhi ya Vahlengwe, FanaThePurp
Album review of Xitlhavi [Part 2]
Swiendlekile feat. Magoda
The album comes alive with Swiendlekile. John J takes us to church and shows off his ability to interpolate Xitsonga classic lines into new hits. John J draws inspiration from classics such as –
- Russian Army’s chant.
- Mapele’s style of commentary.
- Ululamile traditional church hymn.
- Kwenzikile by Blackie and Madumane.
- N’waMalembe and Mfumu wa Valosivisi by Benny Mayengani.
To weave his own BMT anthem, celebrating him and his team for beating the odds that were placed before them by vo many more… an effort that took three attempts before its breakthrough, hi swo a ngo se “Malembe manharhu va ni pimapima….” Now John J is walking on tables like Papa Action on YizoYizo, daring anyone who wants a piece of him to jump [bvuma ni ku teka]. Swiendlekile is a declaration by John J that the success of Xitlhavi God’s timing. Haters must ready themselves with bandages and painkillers. It’s his time to shine. It’s happening. There’s no stopping it.
Ku Biha
Sometimes you must let the artist have his way, especially if he is carrying the whole company.
Ku biha is cute, and easy to sell. It’s a song for genge yo tsandzwa hi mjolo and genge with commitment issues. The song offers a lot of snippets for heartbreak content for social media. John J opens up about his grandmother passing, but his girl still took him for a clown. He made the mistake of trusting her because of her looks, but he now sees her for what she truly is… ugly.
As cheesy as the song is, it is radio and social media friendly. More importantly, it sets off John J’s transition from pop songs into showing off his storytelling abilities. The boy is hurt in Ku biha and turns to the streets on Swo Swi Nyana. This heartbreak plays out until ka Va Sesi. For this, John J deserves an applause. He is truly a storyteller. Xitlhavi has emotional continuity.
Swo Swi Nyana feat. Blissbouy
Ke Hiphop dwag.
Imagine Kendrick and Drake… John J and Blissbouy are the equivalent of that in Xigaza Music. And they happen to be backed by the machine, Sony Music and UMG (Virgin Music). Together, including the independent Metro Beatz SA (the J. Cole equivalent), they make the Big Three of Xigaza music. Why? All three are brand friendly, good looking, girls love them, they are on every poster and post, and they have endless hits.
John na Bliss were firing on all cylinders during this time. So, it made sense for them to jump on a track together, especially after their forgettable colllab ka Xibiyani on EP ya Blissbouy. Hi loko John J a ku let me host you on my classic album son, ni ku endla munhu na wenavu. Kasi i ta kuma Blissbouy xi dye vuswa. FIFA yi ri i draw. They both came to work on Swo Swi Nyana.
John J switches between dialects, painting the alcohol culture ya vafana va Moçambique and SA hanging out together, with the Mozambican wo xava byala i ze i diba. Hi loko Hosi yi hlamula gayisa ra makhoma bhaji na xikhomela, yi ku it’s your time n’wananga. I wu twini hi ku nwa Corona kuve i munhu wa Black… With that said, Blissbouy carries the spirit of genge yo nwa leswi yi xaveriwaku. Na yena i la ku endla ximeche. And he does so, in under a minute. Then John J closes the hit with a sing along for Xitsonga baddies who live to party as he stunts with his own rendition of Dr Thomas Chauke‘s haa chuckle and S/O’s Matshwa Bemuda (Malandzela) with the bridge.
Dzunga Nenge
Here the gloves off, a xi bela ku dlaya Baloyi. Even if you don’t know John J, you know Dzunga Nenge. It’s his biggest song to date. The song that cemented him as top tier Xigaza act and ushered the way for Xigaza as the number one Xitsonga genre. Dzunga Nenge took off and outlived all these songs it was faced with during the Festive of 2024. Dzunga Nenge wins because of measurable impact, vona –
According to Songstats.com:
Dzunga Nenge by John J The Big Baby has 7.5m* streams [Spotify & YouTube]
Compared to:
- Mahlasela by Benny Mayengani with 2m* streams [Spotify & YouTube]
- Rirhandzu ra Timovie by Solly Makamu with 1.4m* streams [Spotify & YouTube]
- Vo Maseve and Xipopani from Xigaza Xa Ma2k by Blissbouy – the album that would give the genre it’s nickname, with a total of 3.8m* streams to date [Spotify & YouTube]
- Maputo, Nhlawulo, Tower, Munhu Un’we Ntsena by Mr. Post. Were Big on the streets, but just not on the charts, his audience prefer CDs or USBs because they listen to music from the car or in a communal setting such as a mintlangwini, braais, graduations, a byaleni etc.
And more so, Dzunga Nenge is a timeless story of him leaving the party from Swo Swi Nyana to go see his family and reconnect with them as he hasn’t seen them in a while. However, i na nenge wo dzunga, which means he stirs trouble where he sets his foot. We all have a Malume Dzunga Nenge in our families. It takes one sip of beer for him to expose that sivara is adopted. John J tapped into a shared lived experience and made a theme song for it layered with ancient chants. This is what Matshwa Bemuda did with characters like Shirley, Nghulele, na Mayanda. See, stories live forever, they are memorable and speak to the soul. They evoke imagination, which is engagement in social media terms. And like all stories, the moral of the story is that mi nga byeli munhu swihundla swa n’wina i vi mi n’wu tsona byala. VAR a yi pfumeli. Malume Dzunga Nenge is a victim. John J outdid himself on Dzunga Nenge.
If you doubted him, you sigh in defeat when you hear Dzunga Nenge.
Ka Rivala
After a Dzunga Nenge he feeds the beast that feeds him, the alcohol and party world. Ka Rivala is an anthem for genge ya le byaleni yo fasana vuspopfa. See, Xigaza is funded by mali ya byala. It’s been the case since its inception in the late 90s. Gatherings such as tikhomba, swiseveseve (makhwaya), xigubu, and taverns are the hubs of electronic music and street culture of our people. The dominance of this genre is nothing new, this is the same sound that of era ya Sam Sikiza, DJ Tshetsha, and Nozinja to name a few. This genre makes soundtracks for people vo hanya ebyaleni. This genre is the equivalent of gospel music for drinkers. The artists enlighten and uplift them as they make them dance. Alcohol anthems are big business for alcohol vendors. Vanhu va le byaleni embrace all of them. It’s all they want to hear.
So, it’s difficult to miss. Even Dr. Sunglen Chabalala revived her career during low CD sales and made a song about brown bottles (Castle Lager, Hansa, and Black Label) to earn her the first brand deal of her career. See, everything eXigazeni revolves around alcohol. The artists and their music move bodies to spend on it. This genre is the equivalent of taxi industry for Mazulu, but our industry is alcohol.
Ka Rivala is an anthem of this world, but specifically for genge yo sungula ku jola loko yi xava movha. John J takes them through the street rules of Xigaza. Swi beliwa hansi, a ku cemiwi loko a fasiwini next week. The game is simple, dyana i sula nomo because ti baddie ti fana na nhloko ya njiya n’wana mbava. Keep it on the low. Ka Rivala is just a hunting field.
Xikwembu feat. Themba Nyathi
From byaleni, John J takes us back to church, acknowledging that not all who drink every weekend do it by choice. They have given up; they drink to numb their pain. John J encourages them to not give up and wait for God. A difficult ask, but he calls upon them to have faith. It took relentless belief for him to get this far. He believes if it worked for him, it could work for them too. He delivers his message using a Dr. Thomas Chauke line from O Nge A hi mina (mhe a ni nga tshembhi ni nga fika la, ku tirhe Xikwembu) and the voice of the Xitsonga gospel Giant, Themba Nyathi, to produce a praise song for dreamers.
Salimina feat. Xisomisani
John J deserves extra points for laying it up for Xisomisani. He went out of his way to honour the people who paved the way for his generation on Xitlhavi. Xisomisani is one of the best Xitsonga rappers to ever do it. To rap in Xitsonga and switch flows and make sense is a difficult skill. Xisomisani can do it with precision. Amu Mchangani pioneered the Xitsonga rap flow, Sho Madjozi made it pop, and Xisomisani mastered it… At this point John J is blacked out from unleashing a beating. Salimina is a story inspired by:
- Wani Kolota by Dr. Thomas Chauke na Shinyori Sisters (Shimatsatsa no 24).
- Zwilo Zwagha by Benny Mayengani – “Mphe zwilo zwagha” [Wo ni tlakusa swa mino].
- Saka Shuma by Gezani Thomas Mzamani (Papahulu no.1) – “Mo ya kwini vo Mhane” [Mi ya kwini na].
This is the power of John J; he draws from home… deep into the music that’s imprinted into our souls. Making Xitlhavi a collection of memorable lines from classic music of the early 2000s.
Khale ka Mina
John J turns another Xitsonga classic into a new age classic of Xigaza.
Khale ka mina is a rendition of Khale ka Mina by the late Comrade Xigevenga fused with Relationship yo expire by Solly Makamu. John J is showing off how far his ear goes. He can turn anything into a hit – from a line, hook, chorus, chant. Name it and he can flip it. He is truly N’wana lowunkulu! Mtwana! The King!
John J is a rare talent. Most artists who flip classics always do an injustice to them, but not him.
John J knows his worth, so much so that even when the ex from Ku Biha returns in his life to compromise him because she is bored with her man. John J laughs at her for giving up on him when he was down. He knows better than to allow a donkey back in his life. It’s over. Se ku makiwi mall eMarhumbini.
Va Sesi
The problem with knowing your worth emjolweni is that i hetelela i jola na vanhu vo ka va nga ku ringani. After being heart broken by his ex in Ku Biha and the troubles with Salimina, he is done with genge ya le byaleni na le xitandini. He moves up to working class women, but he is out of his in league financially. He thought it would be easy dating an independent woman with a car, but what he doesn’t know is that muholo wa vona wu helela ka movha. The lifestyle is on you Bot!
See, Va Sesi is remake of Sibo by Zaida & Carlos Chongo; a song of a woman crying to her man to fulfil his promise to marry her. John J adds a male perspective to this classic and makes it about the financial challenges of modern relationships. Unlike on Sibo, he wants to marry but he is short on money to pay ndzovolo. So, he appeals to his woman to help him with half of the lobola. However, she isn’t having it.
The modern woman’s voice is carried by the closest act of our time to Zaida Chongo, Makhadzi Entertainment. Who warns women from helping men lobola them. It will only end in tears. Men live to embarrass women. Alani! Then comes the TLB ya Xigaza! Gandaganda! Xa xa xamaDanger, who opens with Mandoza’s line on 50/50, pleading with his woman to contribute too. He is drowning and considering ku khendla to afford her. But she doesn’t care for his limitations, xi lava soft life lexa Sesi. Sho Madjozi comes in as the voice of the baddies of this generation. The kind who wants expensive hang bags, champagne, na girlfriend allowance hi mampara week. Hambi vukati a byi bohi eka lava just as long as the money keeps flowing their way, i ta va wa wena.
This song exposes the decay of our customs as a people. Ndzovolo a yi heli, so it’s impossible ku shota. Leswi swi endlikwaka masiku lawa i ku xavisa vana. Hi Xitsonga, nhloko a yi tekiwi, i ya muti. Ku tekiwa mirhi ku wu ta aka muti, wu andzisa xivongo, wu tisa na ntsako etikweni. Loko mirhi wu nga mi tirheli, wu tlhelela laha nhloko yi nga kona. Meaning, her head (essence) remains with her people, and she embodies a new head (her husband’s vision and way of life), forming one body. An alliance is formed between the parts (families) that make up this new being as a support structure each other for the benefit of the union. So, a completion ya ndzovolo would be concluding vuxaka bya mindyangu leyi mbirhi. Phe handle ka vuxaka ndzovolo becomes a transaction. A swi antswi i ti xava kunene Sesi, ku n’wu lomba ndzovolo makes sense. Kambe vo Sesi would rather accept mali yo lombiwa bank as ndzovolo. But until he pays off xikweleti xa yena, wena i nsati wa bank. Kambe a swi vuliwi… Hi nga se leihsa,
RIP to the beat, leswi XamaCcombo a nga yi endla swona a swi nga bohi, i nsele.
Xitlhavi (Interlude)
Xitlhavi is the story of the John J and the man who believed in his gift before everyone else. It’s a not a song, it’s a prayer and a thank you to God for blessing him with a grandfather like Xitlhavi. He bought him his first music instrument and made it possible for him to launch his career. This song humanizes John.
Ka Nyamazani
John J closes the onslaught with a continuation of his life story and how he met Vukheta (his producer). This time in an infectious beat, bidding farewell to those who doubted him and the whole game. He withstood rain, sweat, sacrifice to make it this far. He is off to the land of prosperity (Ka Nyamazani). He has done his work with this album. There is nothing left for him on this Earth. He is a now star. He shares how his mother discouraged him from making music because his father was denied this dream hi valoyi. However, he stayed true to his dream and broke generational chains placed on his family’s gift of music. He references the famous line (Mi ta sala mi hanya) of Hudson Ntsan’wisi when he swore at the nation in his last address. This is John J dancing circles around his enemies as his closing act.
He restored his father’s dignity. Stood toe to toe with Benny and Mr Post. Put on a master class of culture and language. And dropped 10 timeless hits in one project. What more can I say? Hambi FIFA ya pfumela. Xitlhavi is a classic. Hi dangisini wene –
Nyamazani!
Khoma noyi!
Fela-mandla!
Malwela norho!
Manela hi mpfula!
Zondha mutswari na n’wana!
Matwalakule! Ndzilo a va wu tivi!
![Album Review of "Xitlhavi" by John J The Big Baby [Part 1]](https://xitsonga.org/wp-content/plugins/contextual-related-posts/default.png "Album Review of \"Xitlhavi\" by John J The Big Baby [Part 1]")
